Twelve Days
by xsilver-galaxyx
Summary: Twelve stories of the Athosians based on the Twelve Days of Christmas
1. A Partridge in a Pear Tree

During summers she would sit on her father's shoulders as he gathered wild dipa fruit. The sun would be warm overhead and her father would work quickly so they could return to the village before it became too hot. The back of her legs would stick to his shoulders, but she wouldn't move in case he thought that she wanted to get down. The fruit grew on vines and the tendrils would creep up the tree trucks, high beyond the reach of any man. But Torren would lean in towards the tree so his daughter could pick the fruit that grew high above his head and fill the small basket that she carried. She loved being able to stretch out to pull the fruit from the vine, feeling that she was taller than anyone in the galaxy.

One summer, as she started to sit back and place the fruit in her basket, she noticed a small bird that had made its nest in the tangle of old vines that were hidden behind the leaves and fruit of this season. The bird hopped to the front of the nest and made a small sound, defending its territory, but deciding Teyla wasn't a threat moved back into the branches. Not wanting to disturb the bird further, she asked her father to move around to the other side of the tree. As she continued picking fruit, she noticed out the corner of her eye the bird flitting back and forth from its nest.


	2. Two Turtledoves

The story was told by a village elder at every joining ceremony, a stark reminder to the happy couple that any day could be their last together and to cherish every moment they shared together. It was a sombre moment during the day, to make sure that this couple didn't make the mistakes of the past, to realise how lucky they were to have each other, not to let inconsequential things impact on their love for one another and to never put plans off. It also provided a chance for other couples to remember the importance of their relationships and to forgive each other for petty quarrels.

The elders would tell the story of a passionate and devoted couple that had lived many generations ago. They were young and recently joined, although it had been suspected since their childhoods that they would become betrothed. The Wraith had not culled the village in many generations and although the elders were starting to fear that a cull was imminent, the younger people were beginning to suspect that the Wraith were gone from their part of the galaxy. Although very much in love, the couple quarrelled frequently and often after a large fight the young man would trek into the forest and not return for many days. His father and the other elders advised him that he should stay within the confines of the village; however he would not be persuaded otherwise. The woman also disregarded their warnings, believing that he was safe in the forest.

But one night the elders' fears did materialise and the Wraith viciously culled the village. The darts screamed overhead and their sweeping beams lit up the village. The young man had been gone for two nights when this occurred and was expected back that day. When morning came and the Wraith were gone he returned to the village. His father had to tell him that she was gone.


	3. Three French Hens

Remembering what his father had told him, Jinto moved across the forest floor swiftly. He watched each step he made to avoid landing on a twig that would snap beneath his weight and give his presence away. He clutched his bow tighter and had his other hand poised, ready to retrieve an arrow as soon as the need arose. The forest was silent, except for the distant sound of running water. Animals of any sort were rare at this time of the year, but Jinto thought that this only made his task all the more important. He was the one who would provide fresh meat for everyone to eat tonight, a change from the usual dried meat that they ate during the winter seasons.

He knew what he was looking for however. He had endlessly questioned the more experienced hunters, trying to learn everything they knew about where they had found the birds and what the best way to get close to them was. He would find the birds in small groups, only two or three, near the base of large trees where they would forage for food. Although they were capable of flying, they did so rarely, even when threatened, which meant that if Jinto cornered them properly they weren't likely to escape. Hours of target practise left Jinto confident in his abilities and he knew that if he properly cornered the bird he would be successful.

A rustling sound to his left immediately drew his attention and he pulled an arrow in preparation. Peering over a low bush Jinto saw that his prey was close enough to kill.

That night the Athosians shared the three birds that he had hunted.


	4. Four Calling Birds

The night air was still unbearably humid, the darkness of night providing little relief from the sweltering day. Still each man stood at his post, not allowing himself to be distracted by the heat. They were scattered for miles around the encampment and they all knew which direction their neighbour was in, even if they couldn't see them. At dawn they still wouldn't be able to see each other, but for a brief smudge of movement in the distance. But they didn't try to look for each other; instead they focused on the night sky.

They were all tired as it grew closer to sunrise, but they knew that they couldn't let their guard down. There was no safety in the coming of the sun; however it did mean that as the rest of the village rose they could stand down from their posts.

As one man let his eyes drift across the night sky he caught sight of a bright star. He only saw it for a moment but it was long enough to realise that it was moving and heading towards the village.

Cupping his hands around his mouth he called, "Wraith! Wraith! Wraith!"

The man closest to him instantly picked up his warning and took over, "Wraith! Wraith! Wraith!"

The dart was moving fast and the third man had just noticed it moving in the sky when he heard the call. "Wraith! Wraith! Wraith!"

The final man needed to get the message into the village, waking everyone so they could make their escape. As soon as he heard the call he took off, sprinting into the centre of the village where he gave his warning, "Wraith! Wraith! Wraith!" He would continue to call out until the last villager ran past him, and then he would follow.


	5. Five Golden Rings

"Stop it!" Teyla squealed, trying to push Halling's hands away and stop him from tickling her, "I'll tell your mother," she threatened.

"Yeah, me too!" Kanaan said, making sure that he wasn't left out.

"Kanaan you're supposed to be my friend," Halling sulked.

"Baby!" she taunted, running away to hide behind her father. Halling started to chase after her but stopped when he saw Torren.

"Children," Tagan scolded, "You were told to behave."

"But it's taken so long," Marta whined, kicking at the dirt.

"It'll only be a few more minutes," Tagan soothed, brushing back Marta's hair.

"First one there wins!" Selana, an energetic little girl, called out taking off and giving herself a head start.

"Wait for me!" Teyla shouted, running after her.

"Yeah, wait," the rest of the children chorused, chasing after the two girls.

The five children raced ahead of the group, yelling and shouting with excitement. They all slowed down as the Stargate came into view and came to a complete stop before they reached the dialling device.

"Wow," Kanaan murmured.

"Wow," Marta echoed quietly.

By now it was late afternoon and the sun was starting to set behind the Stargate, bathing it in a orange glow. The children all looked at it in awe, amazed at the size and majesty of the device.

"It's so big," Teyla exclaimed.

"And pretty. It's like a giant golden ring," Selana added, causing all the children to nod in agreement.

Tagan and Torren came up behind the children and smiled. "I don't think they'll forget this," Torren whispered to his wife.

"Me neither," Tagan said, resting her hand on her daughter's shoulder and looking up at the Stargate, remembering the first time she had seen it as a child.


	6. Six Geese A'Laying

From as soon as he was able, which he thinks was about five years old, Wex had been in charge of the small flock of geese. They weren't actually geese, the Athosian word for them was Bena but when Major Sheppard first saw them he told Wex that they looked like an Earth bird called a goose, only smaller. Wex decided that he liked that name better, much to his father's annoyance and so now all the Athosian children called the birds geese.

He had names for all of the geese, which worried his mother. She kept saying that he shouldn't be too attached to them, but wouldn't say exactly why. Still, he was responsible for them and he thought that they deserved names.

Each morning Wex would check their enclosure and collect the eggs, distributing them amongst the families who would either cook them for meals or save them for baking. A small number were sometimes kept aside for trading on other planets, but not very often. Because the birds were small, they could easily be placed in cages and transported through the gate, so most groups they met had their own. However sometimes they had to be left behind when the Wraith came and there was no time to take anything and those groups always wanted to trade for some eggs.

Wex knew that he was getting to the age when he would start doing other work and the birds would be given to a younger child to look after. As he brushed his hand across the tail feathers of one of them, he wondered if that was why his mother didn't want him to name them. But all that meant was that he would have to teach the next child their names.


	7. Seven Swans A'Swimming

Teyla finished slicing the vegetables in front of her and gathered them up into a bowl. "What would you like me to do next?" she asked.

"Nothing." Charin grinned.

"Nothing?"

"Nothing." she confirmed. "It's still warm, you should go be with your friends at the lake."

"But we haven't finished yet," Teyla protested.

"I haven't finished. You have. Now shoo," Charin said, ushering Teyla out of the tent.

"If you're sure," She felt that she should make another attempt to help but the lure of the water was hard to resist. When Charin didn't respond, Teyla started walking faster towards the lake, where she could already hear her friends yelling and laughing.

As she emerged through the trees onto the pebbled shore of the lake, she pulled off her shirt and skirt and kicked off her shoes, dumping them in a pile near everyone else's clothing. The pebbles were hot beneath her feet and she ran to the water to stop the burn.

Seeing her six friends further out in the centre of the lake Teyla dove under the water, propelling herself forward before the need for oxygen forced her to the surface. Realising that her friends were too busy playing to notice her approach, she went under again, swimming towards Marta's legs and coming up at the last moment just behind her and grabbing her shoulders.

"Argh!" Marta shouted, quickly pulling herself away from Teyla and crashing into Kanaan, pushing him under the water. He immediately came back up, spitting out a mouthful of water.

"Charin let you out early?" Halling smirked.

"She did," Teyla said, lazily running her arms through the water. "What were you all doing?"

"We were about to have a race from one side to the other," Selana said.

"Good. Count me in," Teyla said, straightening herself up as the other six teenagers sorted themselves out for the race.


	8. Eight Maids A'Milking

The Stargate shut down behind Halling as he walked down the steps to greet Rona.

"How are the Athosians?" Rona greeted, relieving Halling of one of the bags slung across his shoulders.

"We are well," Halling said with a small smile. "Many are looking forward to tonight."

"Of course," Rona laughed, "This way," he said, leading Halling towards a large barn.

"It looks as though it's been a good breeding season," Halling commented, seeing that all the stalls in the barn were full.

"It has. We've been able to put aside more for the Athosians than normal. We've also managed to spare some cheese, which will last much longer than the milk."

"Thank you, it will be very much appreciated by everyone. But I have only brought the usual goods to trade. I don't have anything extra." Halling said, reaching into one of the stalls to pat one of the beasts.

"Do not concern yourself with that Halling," Rona assured him, reaching in to pat the same beast, although it shied away from his hand. "Think of the extra as a gift, rather than as a trade. A thank you for being a good trading partner, and for not revealing our existence or whereabouts to anyone else."

Rona's people kept their existence a well guarded secret. Halling didn't know why, but the Wraith had not come to their planet in hundreds of years, which had allowed them to develop a more stable culture, with permanent structures, fields of crops and herds of larger beasts for meat and milk. The Athosians were one of the few groups who knew of their existence and traded with them, but were sworn to secrecy.

"Thank you," Halling repeated, "Just one thing however. What is cheese?"


	9. Nine Ladies Dancing

The crowd cheered as the newlyweds shared a drink from the cup that had been presented to them by the husband's father. The cup was put aside and was quickly gather by the bride's mother, who would place it safely in the new couple's tent. The sharing of the cup marked the end of the formalities of the joining ceremony and the beginning of the celebration.

The bride's attendants, a combination of her sisters, cousins and closest friends approached the couple to pull her away from her husband, whilst her brothers started to play a traditional song. The song had a strong beat, and the rest of the gathered Athosians started to clap their hands in time with it, adding to the music.

The eight attendants formed a ring around the bride, hiding her away from view. They started to dance in a tight circle and the groom strained to catch a glimpse of his new wife in the gaps between the attendants. The bride started to dance for her husband within the circle but still he only caught flashes of her. Slowly the attendants' circle began to grow, before breaking apart to allow everyone to watch the bride dance. Soon however, the circle began to re-form, but this time the bride was a part of it, dancing with her sisters, cousins and friends in celebration of her marriage.

Gradually her brothers' song began to change, an invitation for the rest of the Athosians to join in the dancing. As was customary, the groom was the first to get up to claim his wife for a dance.


	10. Ten Lords A'Leaping

Representatives from the ten planets would meet every year on a neutral planet, Tala. Their meeting times were based on the passing of a year on Tala after there had been disagreements as to who's year they should follow. The planet was a long deserted outpost of the Ancients where no other group had since taken up residence and the abandoned buildings provided the perfect venue for the meetings. At their early meetings one group had tried to argue that they should be allowed to live there, however they were quickly refused and it was determined that none of the groups would be allowed to have people permanently living there, thus ensuring that it remained a neutral meeting ground.

The gatherings were attended by representatives from the Athosians, the Genii, the Hoffans and seven other cultures. The meetings were intended to be a forum where they would be able to discuss the movement of the Wraith, the discovery of new plants that could be consumed or used for medicinal purposes, the location of other resources and the negotiation of political arrangements and alliances. In reality however, the talks were dominated by political discussions. Medicinal discoveries and other resources were too precious to share freely and representatives would viciously break alliances, climbing over old allies, if they thought that they could achieve a better one.

Still the group met every Talan year and each representative trusted all nine of his counterparts. For although they would fight over trade, crops and political alliances, they knew that the real focus and purpose of the meetings was sharing information about the Wraith, even if it only appeared to be a small matter discussed in passing.


	11. Eleven Pipers Piping

"Quiet please," Marta said, trying to get the excited group of children under control. She winced as one of the boys blew into his instrument, producing a loud squawking noise right next to her ear. "Not yet!" she said firmly, confiscating the instrument and directing the boy to sit down.

Getting to her feet she went over to where the large drums were stored and retrieving a beater, struck it against the surface of the closest drum. The effect was instantaneous, each child falling silent and directing all of their attention to Marta. "That's better," she decided, "Now can everyone please sit down at the back of the tent. Nolan, here is your instrument," Marta returned the instrument to the boy as she returned to her place at the front of the children.

"I have to ask her how she normally does it," she muttered to herself, speaking of the children's normal teacher, as she sat down in front of them.

"Alright," she said holding up one of the instruments that each child currently had in their lap, "Who can tell me what this is?"

"It's a zurna," a girl at the back called out.

"That's right," Marta smiled, "Now, I'm going to be teaching you all to play the zurna,"

"Can we play those big drums instead?" Nolan asked, staring longingly at the big drum that Marta had used to capture the children's attention.

"Not today," Marta said, trying hard not to sigh. Instead she brought the instrument up to her lips and started to play the most complicated song that she knew. Looking over the children's faces she knew it had been the right move, for they were all captivated. Finishing the song, she placed the zurna back in her lap. "Right then, let's begin."


	12. Twelve Drummers Drumming

At the beginning of every year, regardless of what planet they were on, the Athosians would gather together for a great celebration. Lanterns would burn everywhere and there would be a large bonfire at the centre of the village. The tents would be decorated with coloured flags and every home would be cleaned from top to bottom. During the day the women would prepare a large feast and the men would repair and maintain the tools, tents and machines, everything that had been used in the previous year, so that it was ready for the new one.

It was primarily a celebration of the new year, a promise to each other that they would try to make the coming year the best year possible. They would remember those that they had lost during the previous year, and once again welcome the newest Athosians, but the focus was the future. Dreaming of those who would be born and maintaining hope for the new year.

For each celebration, twelve men would be selected to be drummers, one to represent each month of the coming year. The village elders would select the men, based on who they believed would make the biggest contribution to the Athosian people in the coming year. It was considered a great honour to be chosen, not only because of the chance to participate in the ceremony but because it meant that the village elders had recognised your potential.

Once the sun had set on the last day of the old year, the twelve drummers would gather around the bonfire, maintaining the beat throughout the formalities of the evening, before the real celebration began.


End file.
